ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MARCH 2024 9 harness the power of light in nanotechnology and beyond. The researchers say their new technique promises a wide range of applications in nanophononics, nanomedicine, mechanochemistry, mechanobiology, and biophysics—from improving the precision of drug delivery to refining the design of nanodevices. This research underscores the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration in pushing the boundaries of biological and medical science. beckman.illinois.edu. NEW TWIST IN MATERIALS DESIGN A new discovery reveals that crystals can twist when they are sandwiched between two substrates—a critical step toward exploring new material properties for electronics and other applications. In California, researchers from the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, and the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory grew a twisted multilayer crystal structure for the first time and measured the structure’s key properties. The twisted structure could help researchers develop next-generation materials for solar cells, quantum computers, lasers, and other devices. Researchers added a layer of gold between two sheets of a traditional semiconducting material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Because the top and bottom sheets were oriented differently, the gold atoms could not align with both simultaneously, which allowed the Au structure to twist. To study the gold layer in detail, the team heated a sample of the whole structure to 500°C. Then they sent a stream of electrons through the sample using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which revealed the morphology, orientation, and strain of the gold nanodiscs after annealing at different temperatures. Measuring those properties of the gold nanodiscs was a necessary first step toward understanding how the new structure could be designed for future real-world applications. Next, researchers want to further study the optical properties of the gold nanodiscs using TEM and learn if their design alters physical properties like the band structure of Au. slac.stanford.edu. The MoS2 layers and gold nanodiscs marked by regions indicate the various layers of the sample. Gold is found on the bottom MoS2 layer (I), below the top layer (II), and between the top and bottom layers (III). The gold nanodiscs are the darker regions in III. Courtesy of Yi Cui/Stanford University. STAY AHEAD OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY WITH ASM EDUCATION & TRAINING. EARN CEUs, ENJOY DISCOUNTS, NETWORK, AND LEARN FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS. SCAN TO ENROLL TODAY Education
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTYyMzk3NQ==